BURSA MALAYSIA SNAPS 5-DAY LOSSES TO END HIGHER DRIVEN BY DATA CENTRE-LINKED STOCKS

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia snapped five consecutive days of losses to end higher today, buoyed by stocks linked to the data centre supply chain, particularly in utilities and aluminium.

At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 6.67 points or 0.42 per cent to 1,608.75 from yesterday’s close of 1,602.08. 

The index opened 1.78 points higher at 1,603.86 and moved between 1,603.74 and 1,611.98 throughout the day.

Market breadth was positive as advancers trounced decliners 611 to 488, while 477 counters were unchanged, 925 untraded and 44 suspended.

Turnover fell to 2.79 billion units valued at RM2.40 billion versus 3.32 billion units valued at RM2.53 billion yesterday.

UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors' head of investment research Mohd Sedek Jantan said the key index's upward movement was supported by investor reactions to the United States (US) jobless claims data, which showed a rise to 242,000 -- exceeding expectations of 220,000.

"The data has heightened expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may cut interest rates at next week’s meeting.

"Additionally, sentiment was influenced by progress in the US-China relations," he told Bernama. 

He said the Technology Index, which is highly sensitive to interest rate movements, rebounded by 1.88 per cent today, reflecting growing optimism among investors.

"Typically, a Fed rate cut would weaken the US dollar, potentially reducing operational and logistics costs for Malaysia’s tech sector," he added. 

In a related development, Mohd Sedek said the Bursa Malaysia Mid Cap and Small Cap indices also rebounded, aligning with the broader optimism surrounding a potential US rate cut.

"Despite the gains, overall trading volume eased slightly to 2.75 billion shares, falling below the 3.0 billion threshold recorded yesterday. This indicates that today’s market activity was driven by selective, higher-quality stocks rather than widespread speculative trading," he said.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said investors worldwide remained cautious in the lead-up to next week’s Fed meeting.

"Although a 25-basis-point rate cut is expected, the higher-than-forecast producer price index and consumer inflation data released this week have raised questions about the Fed’s future rate trajectory," he said. 

Tenaga Nasional and Press Metal Aluminium emerged as the top two contributors to the local index, gaining 16 sen to RM13.72, and 10 sen to RM5.05, respectively, pulling the composite index up by a combined 2.99 points. 

Among other heavyweights, Sunway perked up 9.0 sen to RM4.69, Telekom Malaysia gained 13 sen to RM6.75, while SD Guthrie eased 4.0 sen to RM4.96, and CelcomDigi slid 2.0 sen to RM3.55. 

Of the active stocks, Top Glove and JF Technology put on 9.0 sen each to RM1.41 and 79.5 sen, respectively, Supermax picked up 7.0 sen to RM1.10, while MYEG and Datasonic were flat at 94.5 sen and 43 sen, respectively.